A couple of days ago I made milk bread/Shokupan and it has been the gift that keeps on giving. Not only have I made super soft burger buns with the dough, but I’ve also made cinnamon swirls and a couple of loaves of bread. Today, I’m using what remains of the bread to make yet another dish – Torrijas.
The Spanish version of French toast is infused with cinnamon and rounded out with some fresh citrusy orange and lemon. I’d never tried French toast before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I had a strong idea that I’d like it.
I infused some milk with cinnamon, lemon and orange peel, and a little sugar for 30 minutes, before letting my toasted bread (you should ideally use stale but mine wasn’t quite there) sit in it to slurp it all up. It looked so unappealing at this stage, I wasn’t convinced that I’d like it – it was basically wet, soggy bread. I’ve been scarred by too many soggy tuna sandwiches as a child to find this enticing! Thankfully the next stage involved butter, sugar, and the frying pan.
I made a direct caramel in the frying pan and sealed all the edges off with it until it was lovely and crispy. I then added a little creme fraiche and some blueberries to create one of the most exciting and sweet brunches I’ve ever had.
This made my day eating this! So sweet and crunchy, but then lovely and delicately soft inside – it was amazing. The big plus for me was getting extra life out of a dish. I love turning leftovers into a brand new meal when I’m cooking, but I’ve never tried it with baking.
New Day, New Thing 